8th International Conference on Electronic Publishing ELPUB 2004 Brasilia, Brazil, June 2004 Special session “Harnessing local knowledge via interactive media” Putting Local Knowledge Online: does it become international? Ana María Cetto Octavio Alonso-Gamboa UNAM, Mexico

Background  Access to Internet-based scientific information and knowledge has steadily grown in recent years, with special advantages for the information generated in developed countries.  In other parts of the world a number of factors are influencing the capacity to generate and use scientific information online: Connectivity problems Lack of financial resources Weak institutional support and infraestructure Poor training in the electronic publishing and dissemination tools.

Total (World): ,802 Source: Global Internet Statistics by Language Available at Consulted June 2, 2004.

Total (World): ,900 Source: ITU (Internet host data: Network Wizards, RIPE). May Consulted June 2, 2004 Available at: D/ict/statistics/at_glance/Internet02.pdf

Total (World): 584,723,000 Source: ITU (Internet host data: Network Wizards, RIPE). May Consulted June 2, 2004 Available at: D/ict/statistics/at_glance/Internet02.pdf

LanguageEstimated population (1) Number of people online (2) % of people online (3) Chinese % English % French774052% German % Japanese % Portuguese % Spanish % Other4, % Total (World)6, % Online Linguistic Population (2004) (1) Total numbers of people in each language family, million inh. (2) Number of people online in each language, million inh. (3) Percentage of people online in each language Source: Global Internet Statistics by Language Available at reach.biz/globstats/index.php3 Consulted June 2, 2004.

Against this background, in LA&C, universities, higher education institutions and national research councils promote the web as an ideal means to put local information and knowledge online. Cooperation and Technology in LA&C: The experience of the LATINDEX System The experience of the LATINDEX System Created in 1995, the mission of the system has been to integrate the efforts made in the various countries concerning production and dissemination of scientific journals, and to create and develop an information system online that would register and provide access to the relevant journals published in the region.

Latindex partners (2004) 1.Argentina: CAICYT 2.Bolivia: Universidad Mayor de San Andrés 3.Brazil: IBICT 4.Chile: CONICYT 5.Colombia: Colciencias 6.Costa Rica: Universidad de Costa Rica 7.Cuba: IDICT 8.Ecuador: FUNDACYT 9.Mexico: UNAM 10.Nicaragua: CONICYT 11.Peru: CONCYTEC 12.Portugal: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia 13.Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico 14.Spain: CINDOC (CSIC) 15.Uruguay: DINACYT 16.Venezuela: Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología

Through the cooperative work three databases have been developed:  Directory: register all active technical and scholarly journals produced in the region. Available online since 1997 currently offers information of 12,787 titles from 30 countries.  Catalogue: set online in March 2002, covers a selection of 1,670 titles, according to 33 previous agreed international quality parameters.  Index: available as of November 2002, offers direct access to a growing collection of online journals. It currently links to 1,898 journals.

A digital gap within LA&C? Latindex uses an IT platform that is uniform and compatible among the participating institutions The system ensures a sustained day-to-day input and continuous update of data Our experience shows that the use of electronic media is in quite different stages of development accross the region For those countries that already had experience and infraestructure, joining this compiling system has been rather straightforward However, other countries in the region, especially those not having a proper infrastructure in place, have inititally faced various difficulties

A digital gap within LA&C? In addition, in these countries there is a lack of systematic compilation of data on scientific journals Most often the existing compilations in these countries are partial and distributed among several institutions A number of smaller countries have not yet joined the system As a result, information on the journals produced in these countries is underrepresented in Latindex This is not an isolated phenomenon in LA&C.

Impact of electronic tools on the role of Latindex  Since its inception, Latindex has been electronically based  The system is becoming a standard reference for those interested in LA&C scholarly journals, as shown in a revision of recent literature  A first reason for this is the fact that Latindex offers a comprenhensive and specialized information about print- on-paper-journals  More recently it is becoming a useful information tool on what goes on in the realm of electronic journal publishing in the region

Impact of electronic tools on the role of Latindex  Through the Index, Latindex functions as a specialized electronic online source of information and means of access to journals that make extensive use of these electronic tools  It also provides an already representative picture of LA&C scene, by linking directly to a growing number of e-journals  For each title the system includes information on their online history, their display formats, their limitations on access and subscription conditions.

Visibility of journals in Latindex  Traditionally, one major difficulty faced by the scientific journals produced in LA&C has been their lack of visibility  The system provides basic information on all journal titles produced in the region, irrespectively of their history and specific features  The three services provide different and complementary information on the journals; the presence of a title in one or more of these services depends on its editorial quality and degree of development  The journals registered in the databases constitute part of a large family of journals; they are not presented in isolation.

Statistics of visits to the pages of the Latindex website: most visited pages 2001 Directory56% Guidelines for editors 20% News 11% 2002 Directory 40% Guidelines for editors 10% News 6% 2003 Directory31% Catalogue21% Guidelines for editors 3% 2004 (June) Catalogue39% Electronic resources37% Directory10% Quality parameters 5%

Visibility of the Latindex web site Visibility has been measured by the number of links from other websites to Latindex. The information was gathered with the help of Alta Vista search facilities ( 349 websites were found to offer a link to Latindex, with the following breakdown:

Type of siteNumber% Full text journals (individual or collections) % Bibliographic and reference sites7923 % Specialized sites with information on Latin America & the Caribbean 5516 % Universities288 % International organizations226 % National S&T164 % TOTAL349100% Visibility: number of websites with link to Latindex By type of site

Visibility: number of websites with link to Latindex By geographic origin of the linking sites

Use of the mail service Out of 994 messages: –53% from journal editors –34% from users, including librarians and reference experts –13% are from Latindex partners Main questions from editors: –How do I register a title in Latindex –How can information on my journal be modified or updated Main questions from users: –How do I get a copy of a paper published in a Latindex registered journal –How do I access a Latindex-registered journal of restricted access.

Positive outcomes A unique information system: no other region in the world has its own scientific journals information system Three comprehensive and up-to-date databases related to a broad family of scholarly journals, but offering differentiated information A strengthening of links among different specialized institutions within the region and external to it, with actual possibilities for cooperation with relevant international bodies A substantial increase of titles of local production made available through the Internet

Positive outcomes A system that provides support to editors, publishers and librarians by way of advice, training workshops, documentation, etc. A possibility to influence and support the work of policy makers and evaluators of academic achievement, through the setting of international quality standards for locally produced scholarly journals A forum for exchange of national experiences in the field; this expertise is intensely shared during the annual Latindex technical meeting, and has been applied in the development of the existing databases.